Tuesday, July 1– Saturday, July, 5, 2008
Tuesday, July 1
What a fun morning! We awoke fairly early and prepared to leave the roadside park with Edith still in bed drinking her coffee! What a good sport she has been throughout this adventure!
With the generator running and both air conditioners going full blast, it was relatively comfortable inside despite the mid-90 degree temperatures outside.
Basically, the rest of the morning and afternoon was get to Mineola as quickly and safely as possible! We were pleasantly surprised to find minimal traffic along I-20 through the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so we made it through there without any hassles. (We did stop along the way to let Edith get dressed and take a short break!)
Once we arrived in Mineola, TJ and Ernie met us at the Civic Center where Jim and I will begin our new Mineola life. The first thing was to get Edith loaded into TJ’s car so she could get to TJ’s house and air conditioning. (Won’t move into her own house until tomorrow.)
Next, Ernie helped Jim get the Vibe and motorcycle off the car hauler so we could get Big V set up on the concrete pad that will be our “property” for the foreseeable future. The car was easy enough to unload, but because of the slant of the trailer next to the curb, the motorcycle high-centered coming off the trailer onto the ramp, so the guys had to get it back in place on the trailer and move everything to an area where it would come down the ramp easily.
With both vehicles on the ground and the trailer parked in its appointed slot, Jim backed Big V onto the pad (actually, he had to do it twice, because he backed it onto the wrong pad the first time), and I began opening it up while Jim took care of the hookups.
Jim: We did learn another lesson during this set-up; that is to always be alert to what is happening under Big V. The hookups at the civic center are unique in that every other pad has the water, sewer, and electric hookups on the right side of the RV, which is normally the “wrong” side. Fortunately, all of our cables and hoses were long enough, so that didn’t pose a problem in itself.
After Barbara got the slide-outs in place, she took the next step, which was to lower the automatic jacks and begin the leveling. So far, so good; we checked the levels, saw that everything was as close as we were likely to get it, and then…POP!...we lost our electricity. I checked all the breakers in the house and found that they were ok. Next, I went outside to throw the main breaker; again…POP! I then tried the other three 50-amp hookups that were on our pole, all with the same results.
Barbara said she would go inside and report the faulty electrical hookups to Charlotte, our genial host. As she went inside and I turned around from where I was sitting next to the pole, I happened to glance under Big V and immediately determined what our problem was…one of the rear levelers had come down squarely on top of the power cord, putting 20,000 pounds of pressure on it and mashing it flat.
I immediately ran back inside Big V and raised the levelers and then came back to see if we had permanently damaged our power line. The line was pretty much flattened when the leveler came up, but when I threw the main breaker, the electrical power came back on in the coach. Wow…we narrowly averted what could have been a disaster for us. Two things could have happened - both of them bad. We could have ruined our shore line (the power cord), which would have been expensive and time-consuming to replace or, the power surges when I attempted to throw all those breakers could have fried the entire electrical system, which would have been v-e-r-y expensive and v-e-r-y time-consuming to replace.
Luckily for us, the shore line is very well constructed so no permanent damage was done to it. But, we now know that if we ever have to hook up on the “wrong” side again, one of us will be outside watching hoses and power lines while the other sets the jacks. Every day is an adventure and a learning experience (or two or three).
Once we had everything in place, we took a break to go over to T.J.’s house for dinner, and then Barbara, Ernie, Billee, and I went to Mother’s new house to wait for the movers, who had told us that they wanted to start unloading all the boxes tonight so they wouldn’t have to work in the hot sun all day tomorrow.
By 10:00 pm we had half the moving van unloaded and Barbara had most of Mother’s clothes hanging in her new spacious closet. It was time to call it a day. Everyone was tired, hot, and sweaty and ready for a cold shower and a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday, July 2
We all gathered at Mother’s new house at 8:00 this morning. Mother acted as the supervisor, telling us where she wanted the furniture placed, Ernie, Barbara, and I helped shift furniture into place as the movers brought in each piece, and also began moving boxes around in the garage so we could get some order for unpacking. Since the doors all had to be wide open throughout the process, Billee took Bonita and Spike out to the screen porch in back to take care of them and keep them from leaving to explore their new surroundings.
As it is with every move, placing furniture was a trial and error process. What we thought would fit somewhere didn’t necessarily fit or look well there, so there was quite a bit of shifting around during the morning.
When everything had been brought in and placed in the appropriate room, Ernie left with the movers to oversee the unloading of their belongings in a storage shed. Meanwhile, the rest of us continued moving the large pieces around until we thought we had an order that was close to what Mother had envisioned.
While Barbara and Billee worked and Ernie was gone, I took a short break to ride to the local post office to set up a mail box. We had decided that since we’ll be here an indefinite amount of time, we’d just have our mail sent directly to Mineola rather than bothering Jean to sort through everything and re-mail it from Artesia. When that was done, it was back to the business of business.
Since the kitchen and dining room had minimal furniture, we began unpacking boxes of things that belonged there. The new kitchen has beautiful wood cabinets with glass doors, just perfect for displaying Mother’s fine China collection, so that was where we started.
While I unpacked the boxes of dishes, Barbara started putting away the China, but even that became a trial and error process as we found an extra set that just cried out to be placed where she had put the first set. Oh well, with a month to get it all done, we just resigned ourselves to taking the unpacking one step at a time.
When Ernie finally got back we moved more boxes around to try to make sense of the stacks in the garage while Barbara and Billee put things up as we moved them inside and unpacked them. With T.J.’s help we all decided that we had too much furniture in the house, so Ernie and I moved a desk and a large sleeper couch (have you ever considered that four-fifths of couch is “ouch?’) out to the garage…so much for clearing spaces in the garage.
By 6:00 pm we had the kitchen more or less put together, the beds made, and the bathrooms usable…enough done that Mother, Ernie, and Billee could spend the night in relative comfort and find food for breakfast tomorrow morning.
With that done, Barbara and I said our goodbyes for the night and headed back to Big V for cold showers and an evening meal…worn out, but weary with well-doing.
Thursday, July 3
While Ernie, T.J., and Mother went off to Quitman, the county seat, to take care of various kinds of business relating to the move, Barbara and I slugged away at unpacking and putting up. I tried to find boxes of like items for the rooms that she was working in and keep her supplied with everything she needed for filling cabinets or decorating the rooms. Meanwhile, Billee was out on the back porch repainting kitchen chairs.
When the others got back, we went to the local Pizza Hut for the daily buffet special and then returned to work for another hour or so before breaking for the day. We had an invitation to go to dinner at Ladd and Angela’s house (my cousins through T.J.’s marriage to Harry Logan) and visit with them and their daughter, Madeline, who has just graduated from Mineola High School.
When we got to their house around 6:00, we found Ladd all by himself. It seems that Madeline was swimming up in Quitman, and Angela, a nurse, had been called to work that evening. Ladd was a great host though, and served up the wonderful meal that Angela had prepared…a chicken casserole, hot bread, steamed vegetables, dessert, and plenty of ice cold sweetened tea.
Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed Angela’s cooking, Ladd’s companionship, and a great time of just sitting around and visiting.
When we had finished eating, Ernie and I went out to look around the place. Although they live in the city limits, you wouldn’t know it once you get to the back of the house, which overlooks a large pond (dug by Ladd), and several acres of grassland completely surrounded by trees. Since they are all accomplished riders, they stable several horses on their place.
While Ernie and I were down the hill looking at a couple of the horses, Barbara called us and got our attention. When we went back toward the house, she pointed out one of the horses, Spot, that was gnawing away on a watermelon rind. T.J. came out and told us that Spot has always liked watermelons. She used to bring them out regularly, so much so, that when spot saw her car approaching, he would run to the fence to get his “treat.”
Ladd had to attend some meeting at the civic center tonight, so we all took our leaves and returned to our respective homes for the night. Barbara and I had a lot to do to get ready for tomorrow, so we went back to Big V. When Ladd’s meeting was over, he drove across the lot to visit for an hour or so and get the grand tour of Big V, since he hadn’t seen our “house on wheels.”
Friday, July 4
Happy Birthday America…232 years and going strong!!!
The day promised to be hotter than a firecracker, and before it was over, it delivered on its promise.
We spent the morning unpacking boxes and decorating the new house. Ernie and I continued to try to make sense of the garage. One of our chores was to break down all the boxes that Mother bought for packing. When she moved to Artesia from El Paso several years ago, she said it was her last move, so we ended up getting rid of nearly all the boxes she bought then. Even though she says that this really is her last move, we decided to break the boxes down and stack them in the attic storage “just in case.”
With the inside of the house looking good by noon, we broke for the day so we could come back to Big V to get started on our 4th of July picnic. We had invited the family to the park for the evening to eat grilled hamburgers with all the trimmings (including two big batches of Big Red ice cream) and watch the fireworks display.
By late afternoon there were about 2,500 people in the park. There were several kinds of food concessions, a live band, and displays by various local service clubs, and folks were milling all around the place visiting and having a good time.
Madeline was the first of our guests to show up, but she was soon followed by T.J., Mother, Ernie, and one of T.J.’s, friends. Billee was a little under the weather, so she stayed at the house and kept company with the puppies. Ladd and Angela had told us that they would be late, so we began setting out the food…grilled hamburgers, Puerto Rican potato salad, baked beans, and all the other various and sundry condiments and chips and dips that go along with a special picnic.
We had told Mother that if she got tired we would have the bedroom fixed up so she could take a nap, but again she was a real trouper. When we had finished eating, she even came outside to visit and observe the washer game that we had going between the concrete pads.
The washers were a real hit, with several folks playing (some of whom we still don’t know) and lots of passers-by who either wanted to know what we were doing, or older guys who said they couldn’t remember the last time they “lagged washers.” Teams were formed, disbanded, and re-formed throughout the evening, with a good time being had by all. Soon, Ladd and Angela joined us for the food and fun.
Just before the fireworks started, Barbara started dishing our huge bowls of Big Red ice cream, our favorite. We had made two freezers of it, so there was plenty for all, even though there were several second helpings dished up.
Promptly at 9:00 the fireworks started with a band (actually, several of them), and everyone in the park was treated to a spectacular 25-minute show, sponsored by the Mineola Volunteer Fire Department. Since the displays were set off only a couple of hundred yards to the south of us, we had a clear view of the launching and the impressive overhead displays (not to mention the loud explosions). (Barbara: It didn’t even dawn on me until I sat down to watch the fireworks that I hadn’t taken a picture one! How sad is that?)
When the show was finished, everyone started getting away, but Ladd and Angela stayed around and visited for another hour or so. We’ve never had an opportunity to visit with them at any length, so it was good to just be able to sit around and talk.
Only a month ago our plans for the Fourth of July were set; we would join the traditional Terpening/Francis gathering at Jean’s house for the horseshoe tournament in the afternoon and then go to Jerry and Nancy’s house for a picnic with family and friends. When the picnic was over, we would adjourn to the front lawn and observe the fireworks display from Jaycee Park, a couple of miles away.
All that changed with the sudden house sale and the move, and we missed being in Artesia for the “family” gathering that has come to mean so much to us, but it was also good to be able to spend this evening meeting new friends and getting reacquainted with family members.
It was a great day…a wonderful celebration of friendship, family, and patriotism.
God Bless America!!!
Saturday, July 5
After the work of the week and last night’s activities, it was definitely a “sleep-in” morning. We took our time getting up and around. It was nice to have a leisurely breakfast, check mail, and not be concerned about what furniture needed to be moved or which boxes we would unpack.
We had invited Heather, Andy, and the kids to join us for yesterday’s celebration activities, but they already had plans for the day at their place; instead, they asked if they could come over today for a family get-together. Of course we were more than willing to do that, since it doesn’t really matter what we are celebrating, as long as we can have part of the family together.
So, by mid-morning we began turning a menu into a meal. I got a loaf of homemade bread underway and then we went over to Mother’s house to get the rest of the meal prepared. With so many eating, it was much simpler to use the nice new kitchen for cooking instead of trying to get it all done in the limited confines of Big V.
Barbara fixed her delicious chicken baked in mushroom soup and some baked potatoes, and I cooked up my green beans with bacon and sautéed onions. It didn’t take long until Mother’s house really smelled good.
The kids got to Mineola a little after 1:00, so we had some time before the meal to show off the house and visit before sitting down to eat. It’s been only three months since we saw them, but oh, how they’ve grown. Abby is talking up a storm, and Alexander is growing into a handsome young man…even riding a bicycle now.
Alexander and Abby weren’t too sure about Spike and Bonita (and vice versa), but it didn’t take long for them to adapt to each other.
Around 2:30 we finally had all the food ready, so we gathered around the tables (with a card table for Grams, Gramps, Alexander, and Abby) and dug in to a delicious meal. It had been a long time since our morning oatmeal, and our stomachs were telling us it was chow time!
What a wonderful day it was…after we ate and got the kitchen cleaned up, we sat around and talked some more. Then I went outside to play catch with Alexander. He had brought a couple of Velcro baseball gloves and a cloth ball that we had given him some time back, and Mother’s new front yard was the perfect place to go try them out.
While Alexander and I were playing ball, Grams and Abby were exploring Granny’s yard and looking at the lawn decorations in neighboring yards. And then, when Alexander had almost completely worn me down, Heather came to the rescue and took him out for a bicycle ride around the neighborhood.
All in all, it was a great time of doing something we’ve always dreamed about…visiting with kids and grandkids and bringing the family closer together, and no one had to drive more than two hours!
It was the perfect ending to a wonderful week...we got a lot of good work done (even though there is still a lot left), Mother, Spike, and Bonita are getting settled into the house, if not into a routine (that will have to come later), and we got to enjoy the benefits of being close to more family members. Life is really good!
“If you can’t see the bright side, polish the dull side.” – Church Signs
From another new home, Mineola, Texas,
Jim & Barbara
Tuesday, July 1
What a fun morning! We awoke fairly early and prepared to leave the roadside park with Edith still in bed drinking her coffee! What a good sport she has been throughout this adventure!
With the generator running and both air conditioners going full blast, it was relatively comfortable inside despite the mid-90 degree temperatures outside.Basically, the rest of the morning and afternoon was get to Mineola as quickly and safely as possible! We were pleasantly surprised to find minimal traffic along I-20 through the Dallas/Fort Worth area, so we made it through there without any hassles. (We did stop along the way to let Edith get dressed and take a short break!)
Once we arrived in Mineola, TJ and Ernie met us at the Civic Center where Jim and I will begin our new Mineola life. The first thing was to get Edith loaded into TJ’s car so she could get to TJ’s house and air conditioning. (Won’t move into her own house until tomorrow.)
Next, Ernie helped Jim get the Vibe and motorcycle off the car hauler so we could get Big V set up on the concrete pad that will be our “property” for the foreseeable future. The car was easy enough to unload, but because of the slant of the trailer next to the curb, the motorcycle high-centered coming off the trailer onto the ramp, so the guys had to get it back in place on the trailer and move everything to an area where it would come down the ramp easily.
With both vehicles on the ground and the trailer parked in its appointed slot, Jim backed Big V onto the pad (actually, he had to do it twice, because he backed it onto the wrong pad the first time), and I began opening it up while Jim took care of the hookups.
Jim: We did learn another lesson during this set-up; that is to always be alert to what is happening under Big V. The hookups at the civic center are unique in that every other pad has the water, sewer, and electric hookups on the right side of the RV, which is normally the “wrong” side. Fortunately, all of our cables and hoses were long enough, so that didn’t pose a problem in itself.
After Barbara got the slide-outs in place, she took the next step, which was to lower the automatic jacks and begin the leveling. So far, so good; we checked the levels, saw that everything was as close as we were likely to get it, and then…POP!...we lost our electricity. I checked all the breakers in the house and found that they were ok. Next, I went outside to throw the main breaker; again…POP! I then tried the other three 50-amp hookups that were on our pole, all with the same results.
Barbara said she would go inside and report the faulty electrical hookups to Charlotte, our genial host. As she went inside and I turned around from where I was sitting next to the pole, I happened to glance under Big V and immediately determined what our problem was…one of the rear levelers had come down squarely on top of the power cord, putting 20,000 pounds of pressure on it and mashing it flat.
I immediately ran back inside Big V and raised the levelers and then came back to see if we had permanently damaged our power line. The line was pretty much flattened when the leveler came up, but when I threw the main breaker, the electrical power came back on in the coach. Wow…we narrowly averted what could have been a disaster for us. Two things could have happened - both of them bad. We could have ruined our shore line (the power cord), which would have been expensive and time-consuming to replace or, the power surges when I attempted to throw all those breakers could have fried the entire electrical system, which would have been v-e-r-y expensive and v-e-r-y time-consuming to replace.
Luckily for us, the shore line is very well constructed so no permanent damage was done to it. But, we now know that if we ever have to hook up on the “wrong” side again, one of us will be outside watching hoses and power lines while the other sets the jacks. Every day is an adventure and a learning experience (or two or three).
Once we had everything in place, we took a break to go over to T.J.’s house for dinner, and then Barbara, Ernie, Billee, and I went to Mother’s new house to wait for the movers, who had told us that they wanted to start unloading all the boxes tonight so they wouldn’t have to work in the hot sun all day tomorrow.
By 10:00 pm we had half the moving van unloaded and Barbara had most of Mother’s clothes hanging in her new spacious closet. It was time to call it a day. Everyone was tired, hot, and sweaty and ready for a cold shower and a good night’s sleep.
Wednesday, July 2
We all gathered at Mother’s new house at 8:00 this morning. Mother acted as the supervisor, telling us where she wanted the furniture placed, Ernie, Barbara, and I helped shift furniture into place as the movers brought in each piece, and also began moving boxes around in the garage so we could get some order for unpacking. Since the doors all had to be wide open throughout the process, Billee took Bonita and Spike out to the screen porch in back to take care of them and keep them from leaving to explore their new surroundings.
As it is with every move, placing furniture was a trial and error process. What we thought would fit somewhere didn’t necessarily fit or look well there, so there was quite a bit of shifting around during the morning.
When everything had been brought in and placed in the appropriate room, Ernie left with the movers to oversee the unloading of their belongings in a storage shed. Meanwhile, the rest of us continued moving the large pieces around until we thought we had an order that was close to what Mother had envisioned.
While Barbara and Billee worked and Ernie was gone, I took a short break to ride to the local post office to set up a mail box. We had decided that since we’ll be here an indefinite amount of time, we’d just have our mail sent directly to Mineola rather than bothering Jean to sort through everything and re-mail it from Artesia. When that was done, it was back to the business of business.
Since the kitchen and dining room had minimal furniture, we began unpacking boxes of things that belonged there. The new kitchen has beautiful wood cabinets with glass doors, just perfect for displaying Mother’s fine China collection, so that was where we started.
While I unpacked the boxes of dishes, Barbara started putting away the China, but even that became a trial and error process as we found an extra set that just cried out to be placed where she had put the first set. Oh well, with a month to get it all done, we just resigned ourselves to taking the unpacking one step at a time.
When Ernie finally got back we moved more boxes around to try to make sense of the stacks in the garage while Barbara and Billee put things up as we moved them inside and unpacked them. With T.J.’s help we all decided that we had too much furniture in the house, so Ernie and I moved a desk and a large sleeper couch (have you ever considered that four-fifths of couch is “ouch?’) out to the garage…so much for clearing spaces in the garage.
By 6:00 pm we had the kitchen more or less put together, the beds made, and the bathrooms usable…enough done that Mother, Ernie, and Billee could spend the night in relative comfort and find food for breakfast tomorrow morning.
With that done, Barbara and I said our goodbyes for the night and headed back to Big V for cold showers and an evening meal…worn out, but weary with well-doing.
Thursday, July 3
While Ernie, T.J., and Mother went off to Quitman, the county seat, to take care of various kinds of business relating to the move, Barbara and I slugged away at unpacking and putting up. I tried to find boxes of like items for the rooms that she was working in and keep her supplied with everything she needed for filling cabinets or decorating the rooms. Meanwhile, Billee was out on the back porch repainting kitchen chairs.
When the others got back, we went to the local Pizza Hut for the daily buffet special and then returned to work for another hour or so before breaking for the day. We had an invitation to go to dinner at Ladd and Angela’s house (my cousins through T.J.’s marriage to Harry Logan) and visit with them and their daughter, Madeline, who has just graduated from Mineola High School.
When we got to their house around 6:00, we found Ladd all by himself. It seems that Madeline was swimming up in Quitman, and Angela, a nurse, had been called to work that evening. Ladd was a great host though, and served up the wonderful meal that Angela had prepared…a chicken casserole, hot bread, steamed vegetables, dessert, and plenty of ice cold sweetened tea.
Needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed Angela’s cooking, Ladd’s companionship, and a great time of just sitting around and visiting.
When we had finished eating, Ernie and I went out to look around the place. Although they live in the city limits, you wouldn’t know it once you get to the back of the house, which overlooks a large pond (dug by Ladd), and several acres of grassland completely surrounded by trees. Since they are all accomplished riders, they stable several horses on their place.
While Ernie and I were down the hill looking at a couple of the horses, Barbara called us and got our attention. When we went back toward the house, she pointed out one of the horses, Spot, that was gnawing away on a watermelon rind. T.J. came out and told us that Spot has always liked watermelons. She used to bring them out regularly, so much so, that when spot saw her car approaching, he would run to the fence to get his “treat.”
Ladd had to attend some meeting at the civic center tonight, so we all took our leaves and returned to our respective homes for the night. Barbara and I had a lot to do to get ready for tomorrow, so we went back to Big V. When Ladd’s meeting was over, he drove across the lot to visit for an hour or so and get the grand tour of Big V, since he hadn’t seen our “house on wheels.”Friday, July 4
Happy Birthday America…232 years and going strong!!!
The day promised to be hotter than a firecracker, and before it was over, it delivered on its promise.
We spent the morning unpacking boxes and decorating the new house. Ernie and I continued to try to make sense of the garage. One of our chores was to break down all the boxes that Mother bought for packing. When she moved to Artesia from El Paso several years ago, she said it was her last move, so we ended up getting rid of nearly all the boxes she bought then. Even though she says that this really is her last move, we decided to break the boxes down and stack them in the attic storage “just in case.”
With the inside of the house looking good by noon, we broke for the day so we could come back to Big V to get started on our 4th of July picnic. We had invited the family to the park for the evening to eat grilled hamburgers with all the trimmings (including two big batches of Big Red ice cream) and watch the fireworks display.
By late afternoon there were about 2,500 people in the park. There were several kinds of food concessions, a live band, and displays by various local service clubs, and folks were milling all around the place visiting and having a good time.
Madeline was the first of our guests to show up, but she was soon followed by T.J., Mother, Ernie, and one of T.J.’s, friends. Billee was a little under the weather, so she stayed at the house and kept company with the puppies. Ladd and Angela had told us that they would be late, so we began setting out the food…grilled hamburgers, Puerto Rican potato salad, baked beans, and all the other various and sundry condiments and chips and dips that go along with a special picnic.
We had told Mother that if she got tired we would have the bedroom fixed up so she could take a nap, but again she was a real trouper. When we had finished eating, she even came outside to visit and observe the washer game that we had going between the concrete pads.
The washers were a real hit, with several folks playing (some of whom we still don’t know) and lots of passers-by who either wanted to know what we were doing, or older guys who said they couldn’t remember the last time they “lagged washers.” Teams were formed, disbanded, and re-formed throughout the evening, with a good time being had by all. Soon, Ladd and Angela joined us for the food and fun.
Just before the fireworks started, Barbara started dishing our huge bowls of Big Red ice cream, our favorite. We had made two freezers of it, so there was plenty for all, even though there were several second helpings dished up.
Promptly at 9:00 the fireworks started with a band (actually, several of them), and everyone in the park was treated to a spectacular 25-minute show, sponsored by the Mineola Volunteer Fire Department. Since the displays were set off only a couple of hundred yards to the south of us, we had a clear view of the launching and the impressive overhead displays (not to mention the loud explosions). (Barbara: It didn’t even dawn on me until I sat down to watch the fireworks that I hadn’t taken a picture one! How sad is that?)
When the show was finished, everyone started getting away, but Ladd and Angela stayed around and visited for another hour or so. We’ve never had an opportunity to visit with them at any length, so it was good to just be able to sit around and talk.
Only a month ago our plans for the Fourth of July were set; we would join the traditional Terpening/Francis gathering at Jean’s house for the horseshoe tournament in the afternoon and then go to Jerry and Nancy’s house for a picnic with family and friends. When the picnic was over, we would adjourn to the front lawn and observe the fireworks display from Jaycee Park, a couple of miles away.
All that changed with the sudden house sale and the move, and we missed being in Artesia for the “family” gathering that has come to mean so much to us, but it was also good to be able to spend this evening meeting new friends and getting reacquainted with family members.
It was a great day…a wonderful celebration of friendship, family, and patriotism.
God Bless America!!!
Saturday, July 5
After the work of the week and last night’s activities, it was definitely a “sleep-in” morning. We took our time getting up and around. It was nice to have a leisurely breakfast, check mail, and not be concerned about what furniture needed to be moved or which boxes we would unpack.
We had invited Heather, Andy, and the kids to join us for yesterday’s celebration activities, but they already had plans for the day at their place; instead, they asked if they could come over today for a family get-together. Of course we were more than willing to do that, since it doesn’t really matter what we are celebrating, as long as we can have part of the family together.
So, by mid-morning we began turning a menu into a meal. I got a loaf of homemade bread underway and then we went over to Mother’s house to get the rest of the meal prepared. With so many eating, it was much simpler to use the nice new kitchen for cooking instead of trying to get it all done in the limited confines of Big V.
Barbara fixed her delicious chicken baked in mushroom soup and some baked potatoes, and I cooked up my green beans with bacon and sautéed onions. It didn’t take long until Mother’s house really smelled good.
The kids got to Mineola a little after 1:00, so we had some time before the meal to show off the house and visit before sitting down to eat. It’s been only three months since we saw them, but oh, how they’ve grown. Abby is talking up a storm, and Alexander is growing into a handsome young man…even riding a bicycle now.
Alexander and Abby weren’t too sure about Spike and Bonita (and vice versa), but it didn’t take long for them to adapt to each other.Around 2:30 we finally had all the food ready, so we gathered around the tables (with a card table for Grams, Gramps, Alexander, and Abby) and dug in to a delicious meal. It had been a long time since our morning oatmeal, and our stomachs were telling us it was chow time!
What a wonderful day it was…after we ate and got the kitchen cleaned up, we sat around and talked some more. Then I went outside to play catch with Alexander. He had brought a couple of Velcro baseball gloves and a cloth ball that we had given him some time back, and Mother’s new front yard was the perfect place to go try them out.
While Alexander and I were playing ball, Grams and Abby were exploring Granny’s yard and looking at the lawn decorations in neighboring yards. And then, when Alexander had almost completely worn me down, Heather came to the rescue and took him out for a bicycle ride around the neighborhood.
All in all, it was a great time of doing something we’ve always dreamed about…visiting with kids and grandkids and bringing the family closer together, and no one had to drive more than two hours!
It was the perfect ending to a wonderful week...we got a lot of good work done (even though there is still a lot left), Mother, Spike, and Bonita are getting settled into the house, if not into a routine (that will have to come later), and we got to enjoy the benefits of being close to more family members. Life is really good!
“If you can’t see the bright side, polish the dull side.” – Church Signs
From another new home, Mineola, Texas,
Jim & Barbara
Since today is our last Sunday at the J Bar J Country Church, Jim and I decided to really get into the swing of it early and weren’t disappointed with our efforts. The entire service was just great! 
After church, Jim and I visited with the pastor, Charles Clary, before I roamed around taking photos both inside and outside the church. 
Monday, June 23
After saying farewell to everyone, Jim and I ventured out the mud swamps to see about getting Big V moved in case it rained some more.
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Then it was home to cover the cycle and hunker down for the rest of the day.
Designed by architect Antoine Predock, the facility silhouettes Sierra Blanca, a 12,003-foot glacial peak that hovers in the distance. Rising seven stories in height, the facility is encased in 440 tons of sparkling white limestone that was quarried in Spain and cut in Italy before being shipped to New Mexico. 
Because of my previous life, I was particularly interested in the backstage area, where I found that in addition to ample shop, storage and dressing areas, the fly space contains 95 battens (for “flying” sets, curtains, etc.), with nearly 5 ½ miles of counter-balanced steel cable.
Headline performers for the 2008 summer season include The Smothers Brothers, Chuck Mangione, Pam Tillis, The Fab Four, Esteban, and Kathy Mattea.
More information about Fort Stanton is available at its website: 
On May 4, 1950, a carelessly discarded cigarette started the Los Tablos blaze in the Lincoln National Forest. On May 6, a second fire, known as the Capitan Gap fire, started in the same general area. Together the two fires destroyed 17,000 acres of forest and grasslands.
Friday, June 13
After Fort Stanton was established and the area hostilities ceased, a community of seven or eight families and a large number of single men comprised the village of La Placita. The village grew steadily, and in 1869 was renamed Lincoln in memory of President Abraham Lincoln. It also declared itself to be the seat of Lincoln County, at that time the largest county in the United States.
Of particular interest was the wooden shed pictured at left center. This was a Tuberculosis shed where patients were kept in quarantine to keep them away from other villagers. Because of the dry climate in New Mexico, many people with the dreaded disease came out here seeking a cure from “consumption.”
Back at the RV park we sorted out the groceries, got everything put away, and worked out a general game plan for turning Big V into an industrial strength kitchen tomorrow morning.
Meanwhile, Whitney and Jim sent us these pictures of Little Jimmy in the outfit that we bought him when we were in Puerto Rico.
We met Rod and Ruth and Bob and Nell for the first time when we went to Lady Lake, Florida, in March, 2007 to help build the Crossroads Community Church. Bob and Rod took me under their wings and taught me a lot. Meanwhile, Barbara, Nell, and Ruth bonded into what has become a very close friendship. We saw them in December when we went back to Lady Lake for the dedication service, and we had the opportunity to visit Rod and Ruth last summer when we were in the Richmond area. It seems that whenever or wherever we meet, we can all immediately pick up our conversations and carry on from where we left off in the previous meeting…what great people and wonderful friends they are!
After everyone left, I went over to Jean’s house to help her cheer the Boston Celtics to a close victory over the Detroit Pistons in a NBA Eastern Conference playoff game. Meanwhile, Barbara stayed at home to play with her new computer program.
